Chrysanthemum is the national flower. Symbol of Japan, imperial power, honor, courage, nobility, happiness and wisdom. This plant is inextricably linked with the sun, from which, according to legend, the Japanese people trace their history.

Japanese legends say
These flowers are not only loved, they are adored by everyone - from young to old, from the emperor to the last poor man. Back in the Heian era, when chrysanthemums bloomed, ordinary people decorated their homes with them, and the nobility rode on “chrysanthemum” boats. Poems were written about these flowers, songs were sung, and poetry competitions were held in their honor.
According to one of the ancient legends, Japan owes its origin to the chrysanthemum. In ancient times, China was ruled by a cruel emperor. One day he heard a rumor that across the sea, on an island, there was growing magic flower- chrysanthemum. An elixir of longevity can be prepared from the juice of this flower.
But only a person with with a pure heart and good intentions can pluck a flower. The emperor and his courtiers had unkind hearts, and the emperor decided to use a trick: send three hundred young boys and girls to the island. But none of them returned to the emperor: enchanted by the beauty of the island, they founded a new state - Japan.
2. A specially protected flower
Since the 7th century, the chrysanthemum has been considered a royal flower and became the emblem of Japanese emperors. A golden flower with sixteen double petals remains the coat of arms of the Imperial House today, and sometimes also plays the role of state emblem: His image can be found on coins, seals and official documents.
Japan's highest honor, the Order of the Chrysanthemum, is awarded only to persons of imperial and royal blood, heroes and heads of foreign states. This order is made of gold and has 2 degrees: on a chain and on a Great Ribbon.
Chrysanthemum in Japan is surrounded by love and care. The Japanese have no equal in the industrial cultivation of these flowers and in the creation of new varieties. In total, there are about five thousand species of this plant in Japan. These flowers have a long flowering period. Because of this, in Japanese culture, the chrysanthemum represents happiness and longevity, and dew collected from the chrysanthemum is said to prolong life.
For several centuries, simple amateurs and professional gardeners

Chrysanthemum time
On September 9, all of Japan celebrates the Chrysanthemum Festival. The history of this holiday began in 1186. Originally these were celebrations associated with longevity. Since the chrysanthemum is a symbol of longevity, the holiday will later receive a second name - the Chrysanthemum Festival. And during the Tokugawa era, it became one of the public holidays.
In ancient times, this holiday was celebrated only at court, where, at the invitation of the emperor, the court nobility, poets, and musicians gathered. Everyone had to compose a poem in honor of the celebration.
During the Chrysanthemum Festival, flower beds with chrysanthemums bloom throughout the country, flower exhibitions are held, and doll festivals are held. Dolls, both individual characters and entire paintings on historical, religious or mythological subjects, are created from living plants, for which a special frame is prepared from bamboo, and the face, arms and legs are made from wax or papier-mâché, very carefully and naturally.
Costumes and the background on which the action takes place (waterfalls, mountains, buildings) are created from leaves and flowers different varieties chrysanthemums By selecting different shapes and shades of chrysanthemums, they make purple capes for the courtiers - from purple petals, green hakama pants - from leaves, yellow hats - from yellow varieties.
These plants are watered morning and evening, thanks to which they remain alive for a whole month. If individual plants become sick or wilt ahead of schedule- they are carefully replaced with new ones, and the dolls and landscapes remain almost unchanged. Well, maybe the hero’s pose or the lighting of the grove changes a little.
The Japanese Chrysanthemum Festival is an event no less spectacular than the carnival in Venice.

Still alive and like this wonderful tradition: Since 831, Japan has been celebrating the Chrysanthemum Festival. One of the most beautiful and beloved by the Japanese, this holiday is held annually in the fall. In former times, on the ninth day of the ninth month lunar calendar courtiers were invited to the imperial palace, drank “chrysanthemum” wine, listened to music, admired the chrysanthemums in the garden and wrote poetry. “Again rising from the ground // Flowers drooped by the rain of Chrysanthemums” - such a romantic image was created by the 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho in one of his tercets - haiku. To this day, festivals and exhibitions of these sunny flowers and compositions from them are held in the capital and other Japanese cities, to create which plants are taken only from the roots in order to preserve their freshness and beauty for as long as possible. And in one of the largest centers of Japanese floriculture, the city of Nihonmatsu, in the fall there is an exhibition of chrysanthemum dolls. The base of the human-sized figures is made of bamboo, the face, arms and legs are made of papier-mâché, and the costumes are “sewn” from flowers of various shades. During the holiday, as in ancient times, you can try a chrysanthemum drink. They say it is healing and pleasant to the taste.

Many people believe that the symbol of Japan is sakura. But this is a misconception. With great trepidation, the inhabitants of the Country rising sun belong to another beautiful plant. Chrysanthemum is the flower of the emperors of Japan. It is with its delicate petals that they associate their country local residents. This flower is like the sun. Agree, it is difficult to argue with such a statement. The light of our star is the key to life on earth. That’s why Japan considers the sun-like flower to be its symbol, a bit of a talisman.

• Heraldic use

Noble Japanese, like European nobles, create and carefully preserve family symbols. Monseux is not exactly a coat of arms, but rather an emblem. In the old days it was painted on clothes, standards, buildings and ships. Now the tradition, unfortunately, is becoming a thing of the past.

Imperial flower symbol highest authority countries. It is a stylized chrysanthemum with two rows of petals, 16 each.

Nowadays, researchers know more than 150 types of similar emblems (monsho). They are similar to the Imperial Flower, but have fewer petals. Only once was this tradition broken. Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339), who tried to seize the power of the shogun (1333), adopted a seal with seventeen petals. This initiative died with the defeated emperor.

• Sign of imperial power

A stylized image of a chrysanthemum was placed on objects belonging to the Emperor. Thus, the coat of arms could be found on the weapons of Japanese soldiers. Officially, until 1945, all weapons belonged to the Emperor. It's the same with the fleet. Each ship was decorated with an imperial flower. All this is already in the past. Since 1945, the ban on the use of the symbol of power by ordinary citizens has been lifted.

• Folk traditions

Now a stylized image of the chrysanthemum can be found in every corner of Japan. Traditional holidays and festivals are associated with this flower. The country's main award is the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.

The Japanese treat chrysanthemum with great respect. These plants are grown by everyone from small to large. In September, the archipelago becomes chrysanthemum territory. Everyone tries to brag about their achievements in breeding sun-like plants.

In autumn, a festival of dolls dressed in chrysanthemum robes is held on the grounds of the ancient Nihonmatsu Castle. Throughout the territory there are flower beds decorated with imperial flowers, statues, and other compositions. Simple people They attach chrysanthemums to cars and boats.

The fruit of their creativity is presented at the exhibition by everyone from schoolchildren to large companies. Since ancient times, this has been one of the most beloved Japanese holidays. By the way, it was previously celebrated officially in Imperial Palace. The nobility flocked to the court, magnificent celebrations were held, an obligatory part of which was competition in the composition and reading of odes dedicated to the symbol of the Emperor and the entire country.

• Highest award

Emperor Meiji established the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (1876). In Japanese it is called "kakka sho". It is a great honor to receive this award.

Over the past period, only a few dozen people have been awarded it. The order looks like a cross with a crimson sun in the center. Rays covered with white enamel extend from it. Diagonally, between the rays, there are yellow imperial flowers. There are two types of orders, they differ in the presence of a chain or ribbon. The latter is worn over the left shoulder, painted red, with blue stripes along the edges.

Greetings, curious readers of my blog! How many of you are sure that you know which flower is the symbol of Japan? Until recently, I had no doubt that sakura is the main pride of the Japanese people and a real symbol of a wonderful country. However, there is one more graceful plant, which means a lot to the residents of the Land of the Rising Sun. But I will talk about this below.

Japanese cherry

When TV programs talk about this country, they always show a video or photo of cherry blossoms. Delicate white and pink flowers, attract attention, exude a light aroma and present a delightful sight. If you have never seen it bloom Japanese cherry, then this is definitely worth a look! It's just a fairy tale. In many parks, along roads, near some offices or cafes in Japan, entire alleys of magnificent trees are planted.

What does sakura symbolize?

The sakura branch represents different interesting points, I’ll tell you more about this.

• Human life.

A certain period, from March to April (depending on the area), does not last long, thereby showing how fleeting, but at the same time beautiful our life is. Everything in it is natural: birth, life, withering and death.

• Prosperity. During cherry blossoms, religious holidays also take place, part of which are prayers asking for good harvest.
• Purity and beauty. The Japanese associate cherry blossom petals with their women. They are also pure and beautiful. There is even a Japanese name for girls - “Sakura”, the personification of these qualities.
• Waiting for something new. They say that the appearance pink flowers coincides with the time when in Japan they used to meet New Year. We all know that every year is marked by the expectation of magic, new achievements and positive changes.

Sakura flowers are used in everyday life. Images of amazing flowers adorn clothing, household items, writing paper and other things surrounding the Japanese.

Bloom Day

The main spring event is “hanami” (花見・“hana” is a flower, and “mi” is to look, admire). This is an ancient Japanese tradition of celebrating cherry blossom days; it has existed for centuries. Although it is not officially celebrated, and there are no specific days off for this, it is infinitely important for all Japanese. People gather in families and couples in squares and parks where cherries grow.

They take bento (packed lunch boxes) with them and eat in nature, admiring the luxurious view. Often during such holidays, girls and children wear (national costume), music plays, and there are tents selling various goodies.

It can be fried hot noodles with meat and vegetables with sauce (“yaki soba”), corn cooked on the grill (I probably love it the most), donut-like pastries (“baby castela”) and many other tasty things.

There is a mobile shooting range for children, catching goldfish with a special paper net (a popular Japanese pastime - goldfish swim in a wide “basin”. You pay money, they give you a net, how many fish you catch before the net breaks, you can take home so many, i.e. e. take it to your aquarium). Sometimes it happens that not one is caught, but there are also professionals :-).

Chrysanthemum - a symbol of the Empire

Now this bright flower, imported from China, is revered in Japan as a symbol of the Sun. There is a belief that in ancient times one of the Japanese emperors, who was partial to the chrysanthemum, made its image with his seal. So, over time, the flower turned into the coat of arms of the imperial family. And subsequently, it grew into a symbol of the entire Japanese Empire.

Now the flower and the sun merge into one whole in the minds of the people of Japan, the words even have the same sound and hieroglyph. And the highest award in this country, as you probably already guessed, is the Order of the Chrysanthemum. Japanese coins also did not stand aside, for example, 50 yen, there is an image of this sunny flower.

What does it symbolize

But at the same time, unlike sakura, chrysanthemum has a slightly different meaning. It is considered a more formal flower, often used in ritual services. For example, relatives and friends visiting graves dear people, carry chrysanthemum flowers with them.

Chrysanthemum is a multifaceted flower symbolizing “nobility”, “purity”, “faith”, “love”.

If we consider what the colors of chrysanthemums mean, we get the following:

As a rule, these flowers are not given to young people, but sometimes chrysanthemum is included in some bouquets.

Chrysanthemum Festival

On the ninth moon month, just on the day of the autumn equinox, the Chrysanthemum Festival is celebrated. Special services are held in Buddhist temples, cars decorated with chrysanthemums drive through cities, and cafés offer petals from the “second sun of Japan.” When the chrysanthemum flowering comes to an end and autumn approaches, an unusual exhibition is held in Japan. Living chrysanthemums are used to create images of people. The result is unique dolls, the figures of which are formed from bright colors.

Who would have thought, but the Japanese eat yellow flowers. They developed a special vegetable variety. The leaves of this chrysanthemum are similar to carrots, and the flowers are a little reminiscent of chamomile. They eat only young leaves and flowers. They have a pleasant smell and unusual taste. Chrysanthemum is added to salads, meat and fish, and sometimes to desserts. True, in very small quantities. It is believed that eating this plant is beneficial; it helps in strengthening physical and mental health. But in any case, there will definitely be no harm from this!

We can talk endlessly about Japan, its uniqueness and traditions. Today we have only touched on the characteristics of this country. I promise we'll talk about her again.
Thank you for taking a little journey with me today and learning about Japanese flower symbolism! If you subscribe to blog updates, you will learn more. I will be glad if you recommend my page to your friends from social networks. Have a magical day! And all the best!

Japan has an amazing, unique and incredibly developed language of color, which has long been the subject of wonder and admiration from specialists in the field of art and design. Meanings and associations, and modern application relies on color as a historical sign system.

Word color in Japanese (iro) always had a different meaning than in Russian - it did not mean “shade”, but was used as an address to to a loved one. Subsequently, from the initial connection between people, the word color iro was transformed into a designation of feelings (for a beloved woman, for example), then into the definition of everything beautiful and, finally, beautiful objects, which began to be described using various colors and shades.

To understand the history of the emergence of the unique color symbolism of Japan, it is necessary to turn to Shintoism (the system of Japanese beliefs and worldview). According to Shinto, the gods who created the world - Izanami and Izanagi (the first man and the first woman, Ying and Yo - comparable to the Chinese Yin and Yang) descended to Earth and created the Japanese islands.

Their children are the beautiful solar goddess Amaterasu, the moon god Tsukiyemi, the violent and impetuous god of the sea and wind - Susanoo. The entire conscious world was divided between these gods: Amaterasu received the plain of the High Sky.

Tsukiyemi ruled the kingdom of night.

and the windy god Susanoo received plains and seas.

For the first time, a color description of the worlds divided between the gods is found in the Kojiki (an ancient collection of Japanese myths): Upper world(high sky) - light, bright. The corresponding colors are red and white.

Middle world - (reed beds) - nature, wind, forest, mountains. Colors - blue, green.

The lower world (the land of the dead and spirits) is black and yellow.

Thus, in the ancient Japanese language there was no clear description of color, but the criteria for color were strictly divided: brightness, darkness, purity and transparency.

Original Japanese color a - the words are black, red and white. The word red comes from “the color of the morning sky.” White is “the color of the sky after dawn.” Black is the “color of the night sky.” Two colors claim to be the fourth word: blue-green “aoi” (originally “awo” blue-green-yellow) and purple (dark red-blue).

The Shinto cult and the Chinese tradition interpreted the meanings of some colors differently, so there were some disagreements and contradictions in the use of color.
The Japanese at one time borrowed from the Chinese the system of primary colors. But all the mentioned colors have their own name in Japanese, the rest are conveyed descriptively.. - . for example, the color of tea, the color of bamboo Let us recall that in the Chinese system there were 5 primary colors: blue, red, black, yellow and white.


The Japanese added to this system violet. At first they avoided using this color because... it was a derivative, not a basic one, but due to the rarity of the dye, as well as the calm and tranquility compared to red (actually red-violet), lilac became a symbol of people of high status and later entered the ranking system of the Japanese court.

The Japanese name for the color is murasaki. This word comes from the name of the murasaki sparrow plant.

Thus, the following system has developed 6 main colors in Japan: black, white, red, blue-green, purple and yellow.

In 603 Prince Shotoku, based on the Chinese theory of the 5 elements and Confucian ethics, introduces a system of 12 administrative ranks. The system specified the color of the headdress for each rank, and also introduced forbidden colors that only the highest nobility were allowed to wear.
The names of the ranks were borrowed from Confucian ethics - grace ( 徳 ), philanthropy (仁 ), politeness (礼 ), faith (信 ), duty (義 ) and wisdom (智 ). Each rank corresponded specific color in clothes.
The table of 12 steps with ranks is given below.

Prince Shotoku:

In addition, the system introduced prohibited colors (translation from Japanese):
Sumac color used only for the outerwear of the Emperor of Japan. It was prohibited for use by anyone other than the Japanese monarch. To this day, the ceremonial Japanese clothing of the emperor during his enthronement is dyed only in this sumac color. It is extracted from the fruits of sumac (Rhus succedanea), a Japanese wax tree.


Seven Additional Forbidden Colors, which were installed in the X-XI centuries.
Pale green is the color of the outer clothing of the Emperor of Japan. As an exception, this color could be worn by the monarch’s concubines and mistresses, who were 4th rank palace servants, as well as 6th rank treasury secretaries.


Pale red is the color of the outer clothing of the ex-Emperor of Japan.

Yellow-red is the color of the outerwear of the Crown Prince of Japan.

Dark purple is the color of the outerwear of 1st rank aristocrats.

Gardenia is a reserve prohibited color, a substitute for yellow-red color. Made from the fruit of the jasmine gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides). Permission to wear this color could be granted by an imperial rescript.

Dark crimson is a reserve forbidden color, a substitute for dark purple. Permission to wear this color could be granted by an imperial rescript.

Dark sappan is a reserve forbidden color, a substitute for dark purple. Produced from the fruits of Caesalpinia sappan. Permission to wear this color could be granted by an imperial rescript.


In the 19th century, during the Meiji period, the ban was lifted from all flowers except sumac, fawn and gardenia.#v =onepage&q=japan%20color%20history&f=